Apple Shares Struggle After New iPad Announced

March 7, 2012

Were you disappointed by the lack of flashy name for Apple’s new iPad, the New iPad? If so, you weren’t the only one as investors seemed slightly unimpressed with Tim Cook & Co.’s unveiling of the new tablet as Apple’s shares tumbled a bit following the conference’s conclusion.

Apple’s shares actually started out the day at $536.87, which was higher than where they ended Tuesday when the markets closed for the day. Since the announcement, though, shares have fallen in value nearly 1%.

Tuesday was actually a recent plunge in terms of Apple’s typical value, which is to say Apple was still highly valued in spite of that decline. Shortly after the markets began trading yesterday, Apple shares descended to $514.49, which was the greatest drop in value for the company since a regular tenant of the $500-and-Up Club. There was one precipitous plunge shortly after Apple crossed the $500 mark, but since then its shares have been on a steady incline.

Even with today’s dip, though, Apple shares are still wildly valuable and it’s too early to really speculate whether today’s announcement took the wind out of investors’ sails. CBS Money Watch spoke with an analyst who believes that news of the New iPad will ultimately boost Apple’s value on the stock market.

“While a new iPad announcement is arguably the worst kept secret among Apple aficionados, we nonetheless believe the news will be material,” said Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu in a note to clients ahead of the announcement. Apple hasn’t updated the iPad since March 2011, Wu notes, and the latest iteration of the world’s most popular tablet should lift sales this calendar year. The analyst now expects Apple to ship 55 million iPads in 2012, up from a prior forecast of 51 million.

Still, that was then and this is now and as the afternoon trudges along, Apple’s stock seems to be struggling to return to where it started out the day.

The last time Apple shares took a drop happened after news broke of its iPad trademark woes with Chinese tech company Proview.

The New iPad aside, Apple announced a host of new features and products today that could prove to bolster Apple’s value on the market. Maybe all it will take is for investors to get used to the fact that the new tablet isn’t called iPad 3 or iPad HD (like everybody else). Although the initial response has been tepid, Wall Street still has until March 16, the day the New iPad hits the shelves of Apple Stores, before they have to make up their mind over whether to sell or buy.